U of S receives $1.2 million to explore new testing methods for COVID-19
More than $1 million in funding is going toward Covid-19-related projects involving University of Saskatchewan researchers, including one in which a saliva-based test is being developed.
Dr. Walter Siqueira of the U of S college of dentistry is leading work on the new diagnostic test which detects SARS-COV-2 peptides in saliva, as part of a broader University of Regina-led project, the school announced.
The test would be less invasive and more sensitive than current testing methods, and would take less than five minutes to generate results. The test can be done at home and used in remote locations that don’t have medical facilities, according to the U of S.
A prototype device, approximately the size of a cellphone, is being developed in collaboration with a Western University team. The device, according to the U of S, will be similar to pregnancy tests in that an indicator will change colour when the virus biomarker combines with SARS-COV-2 antibodies — indicating the presence of the virus in the saliva. Siqueira said the accuracy of the test is expected to be high because the proteins being used “is a marker for a specific SARS-COV-2 antibody, whereas other tests often aren’t that specific.”
As well, because the test is based on long-lasting proteins, “the virus is more detectable,” he said.
Unlike some existing tests, the diagnostic test being developed may also be able to detect mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 cases. Sigueira anticipates the new test will be a low-cost alternative and could be made available to the general population by March 2021.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) announced Thursday it will invest $1.2 million in two projects, including more than $550,000 to U of S researchers at the College of Dentistry and the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-international Vaccine Centre (Vido-intervac).
Siqueira leads the U of S salivary proteomics research lab, one of the few on the planet focused on applied salivary research. Also involved in the project are University of Regina researcher Dr. Mohan Babu and VIDO -Intervac researcher Darryl Falzarano.
In another project, Siqueira will work with Mcgill researchers to collect saliva samples from across the country to determine the COVID-19 rate among dentists. Saliva samples will be collected from 220 dentists every four weeks for a period of one year to test for COVID -19.
“The close contact between dentists and patients, along with the use of aerosol-generating procedures, makes dental offices a potential high-risk environment for the COVID-19 transmission,” Siqueira said.
“Now that dental offices are beginning to reopen, they are implementing infection control, treatment protocols and other procedures but there is minimal scientific evidence to support these measures. More information is needed to ensure we have evidence-based infection control guidelines that protect both the patients and the dentists.”